Bill Clinton Doesn’t Want Young People to Get Too Discouraged About the Economy

During the closing session of this year’s Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York, the former president said he understood why young people are bummed out about the state of the economy:

“I keep reading these surveys that show that young people, at least in the United States and other wealthy, well-established countries, are getting increasingly discouraged. And I understand that on one level because, what the heck, everything was pretty good for a long time and now it’s not,” Clintonsaid.

But he continued, “It’s okay to be realistic. But to be discouraged about your future is to make a decision in advance to be disappointed. And it is a cop out.”

He added that instead of giving in to pessimism, his target audience should try to be “grateful that you’re living in a time when you’re being given a chance to build a new world.” After all, “nobody has the right to permanent prosperity.” Funny, he never mentioned that in the nineties, when today’s disappointment-prone young adults were still impressionable, expectation-less children. If only he’d said something backthen!

He added that instead of giving in to pessimism, his target audience should try to be “grateful that you’re living in a time when you’re being given a chance to build a new world.” After all, “nobody has the right to permanent prosperity.” Funny, he never mentioned that in the nineties, when today’s disappointment-prone young adults were still impressionable, expectation-less children. If only he’d said something backthen!